A grinding machine of the type described above has been known in the art.
The known grinding machine serves for cylindrical surface grinding of rotational-symmetrical workpieces. When in the case of such workpieces an outer contour is to be ground which comprises, for example, a first cylindrical portion and a second cylindrical portion of different diameter with a conical transition zone arranged therebetween, all the three surface areas can be ground with the aid of the known grinding machine in a single operation, by changing the angular position of the grinding spindle, without the need to perform any resetting or resharpening operations first.
However, the known grinding machine is of rather complex design, as regards its swivelling mechanism, the control unit required for actuating the latter and as regards the measuring device enabling the position of the swivel carriage relative to the mounting plate to be measured. In the case of the known machine, for example, the measuring device is arranged directly in the area of the swivel carriage and, accordingly, not readily accessible with the result that on the one hand a complex structure is obtained and, on the other hand, time-consuming work is required for servicing or, if necessary, exchanging the swivel mechanism and the measuring device of the known grinding machine.
It has been found, therefore, that the measuring device of the known grinding machine does not in all cases meet today's demands regarding the required measuring precision for the rotary position of the grinding spindle.